PLG House Tour Recap
We’ve been hearing rave reviews from readers who attended the Prospect Lefferts Gardens House Tour this past weekend. Here’s one: These homes were nearly across the board respectful to original architecture and historic qualities, while being exuberant and inventive expressions of individual owners. My absolute favorite: the house on Chester Court (owned by two interior…
We’ve been hearing rave reviews from readers who attended the Prospect Lefferts Gardens House Tour this past weekend. Here’s one:
These homes were nearly across the board respectful to original architecture and historic qualities, while being exuberant and inventive expressions of individual owners. My absolute favorite: the house on Chester Court (owned by two interior design professionals). Also a favorite: the Fenimore St. garden designed by Nigel Rollings. But wouldn’t want to limit my praise there. So many distinct and wonderful renovations. Of all the homes, only one or two had the odd merit of being very nice but not extraordinary.
Other reactions?
All in all, it was a great tour. My one complaint is that there wasn’t enough envelope-pushing design. Frankly, I don’t crazy upholstery and wall-papered ceilings very inspiring.
We loved it, too. Fascinating to see the 2-story limestone homes of PLG–Victorian meets Craftsman on the inside. Lots of really great adaptive reuse. Thanks, PLG for a great event!
Cool! Thanks, Brooklynista. If anyone’s reading this who saw the Chester Court house, what was your favorite thing about it?
Brenda, I looked at the photos and thought the same thing: Wow, Brooklyn is really great.
Just looked at Bob Marvin’s slide show–fantastic pix, next best thing to being there…the whole set would make a great ‘Exhibit A’ for those who ask why I love Brooklyn so much. Oh, and best thing on the tour was clearly that cool white ‘Spuds McKenzie’ dog!!!
Mopar, that’s the Chester Court house that several people have mentioned in this thread. It was also one of the most talked about houses on the tour and a “must see” on many tour advice lists. This house was so “remarkable” you either loved it or hated it. Not much room there for going in between. As an old house lover myself, I can tell you that I loved this one.
I am pretty sure the house with the striped green floor was featured in Domino magazine before it closed. I have to admit I was a little scandalized they took out the wainscotting and changed the doorway in the dining room. Did anyone see that house?
I can’t help but make comparisons with the Park Slope tours which I’ve been attending for a long time. The PLG tour was like a breath of fresh air in comparison-everyone there was friendly and oh so down to earth. One owner at the PS tour one year told me to get out of the chair I was sitting on in her garden. Hey, it was a hot day and hers was the 8th house on a long tour. Get over yourself already. On PLG’s all were welcome to sit in the lovely gardens, and in one of them to take some refreshments.
At PS you had the sense you were expected to feel privileged having the opportunity to marvel at the owners’ tastes and precious “objets”. My husband and I always laughed at the airs put on by the more insufferable owners. Not so the PLG tour-all the people I met were wonderful. The house selections were great, particularly the side by side identical ones showing the owners’ different treatments.
The houses’lay-outs were far more practical than the older brownstones in PS. After building so many in more central Brooklyn, the architects seemed to have finally gotten a clue. I suppose a dearth of cheap household help must have had something to do with it too.
Time to scale down and sell the McMansion, Brenda?
The PLG Lefferts Manor tour was a very good one this year. And while all the homes were lovely my absolute favorite was the Maple II Axel Hedman home with the stunning modern interior. This home was so well put together it blew me away. I think the owner said the home was featured in Architectural Digest last year.
The Sterling Street home was adorable and the Midwood I house was also nice but perhaps a bit fancy for my taste. All the people were pleasant and overall, I’d say it was a fun day. I think the pictures Bob Marvin took reflect just that.